In a recent interview with Fox News Channel anchor Neil Cavuto, Wisconsin lawman David Clarke offered his take on the recent civil unrest in Baltimore, Md. The Milwaukee County sheriff levied an indictment against leftist policies he believes are among the root causes of this and other recent riots.

As in New York City and Ferguson, Mo., before it, he said years of mismanagement positioned Baltimore as a breeding ground for such a violent protest.

Clarke insisted that “failed liberal government policies have led to high unemployment, chronic poverty, failing schools.”

He indicated that these factors have combined to create a volatile environment within the black community, noting “90 percent of the homicide victims in the Baltimore area are black, as are 90 percent of the suspects.”

While he made it clear that he does not intend to “dismiss the death of Freddy Gray,” a suspect whose death in police custody sparked the recent riots, Clarke explained that the situation currently playing itself out on the streets of Baltimore is much bigger than that incident.

“These individuals that are rioting and looting right now, throwing rocks and bottles, do not know Freddy Gray,” he said, “and if they were in a nightclub in Baltimore would shoot and kill him for bumping into them on the dancefloor.”

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In his capacity as sheriff, he said he has seen similar scenarios in Wisconsin.

“Just the slightest provocation and these individuals are so willing to settle disputes with violence,” he concluded. “That’s what we’re seeing play out here in Baltimore.”

Do you think Baltimore’s leaders helped set the stage for rioters? Let us know in the comments section below.